The present invention relates to airbrushes, and more particularly to a high-performance airbrush, which can be conveniently adjusted to fit the left-handed user, or the right-handed user.
FIGS. from 1 through 3 show an airbrush according to the prior art. This structure of airbrush comprises a barrel 10, the barrel comprising an integrated fluid cup 12, a backwardly extended receiving hole 14, a paint passage 11 extended from the backwardly extended receiving hole 14 through the fluid cup 12 to the front end thereof, a transverse through hole 13, an air passage 130 extended from the transverse through hole 13 to the front end, and a positioning frame 132 disposed in the transversely extended through hole 13, an air valve 16 mounted in the transverse through hole 13 at a bottom side, the air valve 16 comprising a piston rod 160 adapted to close/open the air passage 130, and a spring 161 adapted to force the piston rod 160 to close the air passage 130, a nozzle cap 17 fastened to the front end of the barrel 10 to hold a nozzle tip 18, a needle holder 5 axially slidably mounted in the barrel 10, a needle 19 fastened to the needle holder 5 and moved with the needle holder 5 to close/open the air passage 130 and the paint passage 11 to the nozzle tip 18, a spring cap 3 coupled to the needle holder 5, a spring 4 mounted in the spring holder 3 and adapted to force the needle holder 5 forwards, a cap nut 2 threaded onto the threaded rear end 6 of the needle holder 5 to secure the spring holder 3 in place, an end cap 1 fastened to the rear end of the barrel 10, and a main lever 15 mounted in the transversely extended through hole 13 at a top side and coupled to the positioning frame 132 and adapted to move the needle holder 5 and the piston rod 160 in opening the paint passage 11 and the air passage 130. The main lever 15 comprises a bottom coupling rod 152 pivoted to the positioning frame 132, a push plate 150 stopped at the front end of the needle holder 5, and a needle hole 151 extended through the push plate 150 for the passing of the needle 19. When the user presses the main lever 15 and then turned the main lever 15 backwards, the piston rod 160 is lowered to open the air passage 130, and the needle 19 is moved backwards with the needle holder 5 to open the air passage 11, and therefore a paint is driven out of the air chamber 170 in the nozzle cap 17 and the nozzle tip 18 by compressed air passing from the air valve 16. This structure of airbrush is still not satisfactory in function. The drawbacks of this structure of airbrush are numerous and outlined hereinafter.
1. The arrangement of the bottom coupling rod 152 of the main lever 15 and the positioning frame 132 of the barrel 10 greatly complicates the manufacturing process and cost of the airbrush, and the bottom coupling rod 152 of the main lever 15 wears quickly with use.
2. Because the push plate 150 is welded to the main lever 15, it may not be accurately fastened to the main lever 15 to the desired angle, causing the push plate 150 unable to positively push the needle holder 5 to the set distance.
3. During the movement of the needle holder 5, the needle 19 may vibrate or not accurately aligned, causing a bad painting result.
4. When the needle 5 is forced into the nozzle cap 17, the pointed front tip of the needle 5 tends to be deformed.
5. Because the air passage 130 is obliquely extended from the transversely extended through hole 13 to the front end of the barrel 10, it is difficult to clean the air passage 130.
6. Because the fluid cup 12 is formed integral with the barrel 10, it is in the way of the user""s sight when the user operating the airbrush and watching the nozzle tip 18, and cannot be adjusted to the desired angle to fit the left-handed user or right-handed user.
The present invention has been accomplished to provide an airbrush, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. It is one object of the present invention to provide an airbrush, which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture. It is another object of the present invention to provide an airbrush, which achieves high performance. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an airbrush, which is easy to maintain. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an airbrush, which is durable in use. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an airbrush, which can conveniently be adjusted to fit the left-handed user, or the right-handed user. According to one aspect of the present invention, the airbrush comprises a barrel, the barrel comprising a transversely extended through hole, an air valve mounted in the through hole of the barrel at a bottom side, the air valve comprising an air hole, a piston rod adapted to close/open the air hole of the air valve, and spring means adapted to force the piston rod to close the air hole of the air valve, a nozzle head fastened to the front end of the barrel, a nozzle cap fastened to the nozzle head to hold a nozzle tip, a needle holder mounted in the barrel and axially moved in the barrel, a needle fastened to the needle holder and moved with the needle holder to close/open the paint passage through the nozzle head and the nozzle tip, a spring cap fastened to a rear end of the needle holder, a spring mounted in the spring cap to support the needle holder in a front position where the needle closes the paint passage, and a fluid cup fastened to the barrel and adapted to provide a paint to the nozzle head for enabling the pair to be forced out of the nozzle tip by compressed air passing from the air valve, and a main lever mounted in the through hole of the barrel at a top side and adapted to move the piston rod in opening the air hole of the air valve and to simultaneously move the needle holder and the needle in opening the paint passage, wherein the main lever comprises a through hole for the passing of the needle, a push rod stopped at a front end of the needle holder, and an arched bottom recess, which receives a spherical top end of the piston rod for enabling the main lever to be turned on the spherical top end of the piston rod to push the needle barrel backwards in opening the pain passage after the main lever had been pressed to move the piston rod downwards in opening the air hole of the air valve. According to another aspect of the present invention, the push rod is formed integral with the main lever for moving the needle holder positively. According to another aspect of the present invention, the nozzle head is stopped at the front end of the barrel, comprising a rear extension mounting portion fastened to the inside of the front end of the barrel, a longitudinal center through hole extended through the rear extension mounting portion in communication between the nozzle tip and the inside of the barrel and adapted to guide movement of the needle in course, a fluid hole perpendicularly outwardly extended from the longitudinal center through hole and adapted to receive a paint from the fluid cup, an outside annular groove disposed around the periphery of a front end of the rear extension mounting portion, and a plurality of air passages extended to a front end thereof and disposed in communication with the outside annular groove and adapted to receive compressed air from the air valve. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the oblique air passages of the nozzle head are short, and the horizontal air passage of the barrel is relatively longer. Because the nozzle head and the barrel are separated members, the processing of the air passages is not complicated. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the air passages of the nozzle head are equiangularly spaced around the longitudinal center through hole in communication between the outside annular groove of the nozzle head and the nozzle tip, enabling paint to be driven out of the nozzle tip in streams uniformly. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the elongated rear extension mounting portion of the nozzle head has a length sufficient to guide the movement of the needle stably. According to still another aspect of the present invention, nozzle element installed in the front end of the nozzle head and adapted to receive the needle for enabling the needle to close the paint passage, the nozzle element comprising a narrow axial center through hole disposed in communication between the nozzle tip and the longitudinal center through hole of the nozzle head and adapted to receive the pointed front tip of the needle, preventing the pointed front tip of the needle from being deformed. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the barrel comprises two transverse mounting holes aligned at two opposite sides, a fluid tube selectively fastened to one of the transverse mounting holes and adapted to receive the fluid cup, and a plug adapted to close one of the transverse mounting holes. By means of this arrangement, the fluid cup can be installed in the barrel at the left side or the right side as desired.